


Peace of Mind

by Brosequartz



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Magic: The Gathering
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 10:25:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7680763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brosequartz/pseuds/Brosequartz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jace Beleren, working a desk job at the Ministry of Magic, is surprised to run into an old classmate from his time at Hogwarts in the Ministry lobby...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Peace of Mind

Jace Beleren sniffed and rubbed his nose with his coat sleeve. He had felt sick since early in the morning, but hadn’t wanted to skip work. His position in the International Magical Office of Law was an important one, and one that he enjoyed. But after listening to him sniffle and sneeze for three hours, his cubicle mate, Lavinia, had very  _ strongly _ suggested that he go home early. 

 

So there he was, leaving work at noon, wrapped up in his coat, descending in the lift to the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. The golden grilles slid open and he walked out into the bustling room, making a beeline for the floo network fireplaces. He habitually used the second from the left, so his eyes fixed on that as he walked towards it, and he didn’t notice the redheaded auror rushing through the crowd.

 

Her shoulder slammed into him as she sped past, and he let out a startled yell as he fell to the floor. “ _ PLEASE EXCUSE ME!! _ ” she shouted as she kept running. Jace, feeling incredibly irritated, glared after her until a broad, brown hand moved into his field of vision. 

“Sorry about that,” said the person it belonged to, “My partner gets excited.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Jace, taking the man’s hand and being yanked to his feet with much more strength than he had been expecting. He looked up into the auror’s face and recognized it.  _ Gideon Jura.  _ But this was not the Gideon Jura he had known at Hogwarts.  _ This _ Gideon Jura had broad shoulders and thick forearms, and a strong, firm grip on Jace’s hand.

“ _ Jace? _ ” said Gideon.

“Gideon!” gasped Jace, his heart speeding up.

“Wow, it’s been  _ ages! _ We have to catch up! But I-- and my partner-- are in a hurry at the moment… I’ll talk to you soon!” Gideon rushed away, following the flaming red hair of his partner, who was waiting for him beside the lift with an annoyed expression on her face.

Jace sighed with relief. Today of all days to run into… his friend from school… he must look disgusting, or at least disheveled, with his runny nose and bloodshot eyes. He exhaled slowly, and willed his heartbeat to steady. Feeling slightly breathless, he stepped into the leftmost fireplace.

 

Arriving back at his apartment, Jace shed his coat and instead wrapped a blanket around himself. He flicked his wand at the teakettle, which sprang into action, and shuffled to the sofa to lie down. He gazed at the ceiling, listening to the sound of tea making itself in the kitchen, and wondered. How long had Gideon been an auror? He had never seen him around at the Ministry, although it  _ was  _ big and they might have just missed one another, or he might not have recognized Gideon from afar because he looked so  _ different.  _ Gideon’s image bloomed in his mind, broad shouldered and handsome, and Jace felt blood rushing to his cheeks.

The teakettle began to whistle loudly. Jace sat up and looked over at the kitchen counter. The finished cup of tea began to float towards him. He took it in his hands and sat back. He hadn’t seen Gideon in years. They had been... _ sort of _ friends at Hogwarts, but they’d lost touch after graduating. It had seemed to Jace like Gideon had dropped off the face of the earth- he’d seen no sign of him in all this time. Knowing that they both worked at the Ministry of Magic was quite a discovery. Jace sipped his tea.

 

He wasn’t feeling completely better the next morning, but was confident he was well enough to not annoy Lavinia, so he set off to work. He found himself glancing around the atrium on the way from the fireplaces to the lift, but Gideon was nowhere to be seen. He put him out of his mind as he arrived on the fifth level, bade good morning to Lavinia and set to work. He was looking over animagus immigration protocol, which the Wizengamot was reviewing the following week. He needed to annotate it and the revisions to it that were being proposed. The task engulfed him, so when an enchanted paper airplane sailed into the room and onto his desk, he was caught completely off guard. He didn’t think anyone in another department had reason to send him a memo. He unfolded the airplane.

_ Jace,  _ it read,  _ it was good to see you yesterday!  _ His heart skipped a beat.  _ We haven’t talked in ages, we’ve got to catch up. Please let me know if you’d like to meet for lunch later this week! -Gideon Jura _

The note was short, but it left his mind reeling. He grabbed a quill and scribbled a reply.  _ Gideon,  _ he wrote,  _ I would love to get lunch together. Shall we say Friday at noon? Let’s meet at the fountain then.  _ He looked at the note.  _ If you can,  _ he added.  _ -Jace _

 

Jace sat at his kitchen table, clutching his morning cup of coffee. Friday was still two days away. What was he going to do? What were they going to talk about? They hadn’t seen each other in  _ years!  _ What did old friends talk about when they met to ‘catch up’? They  _ had  _ been friends at school, kind of. At the very least, they had liked each other, been nice to each other. And not many other people had been nice to Gideon. He realized, thinking back on it, that Gideon had probably considered him a friend. Maybe his  _ best  _ friend. Maybe his only friend. He had been short and slight back then, and hadn’t fit in among the other Gryffindors. He and Jace had taken all the same electives, and ended up bonding over it, spending many long nights in the library or one of their common rooms. They had almost kissed, once. He thought. It had been very late at night. He had been practically falling asleep on his books. He wasn’t sure. But he wanted to believe that that was what had happened.

He looked up from his coffee. He wished he knew whether Gideon had  _ liked  _ him, or just liked him. As a friend. Gideon hadn’t really had any other friends. But Jace had. And now it was time to call on one for help. He set down his mug and got out his wand.

“ _ Expecto patronum. _ ” A shimmering silver fish emerged from the tip of his wand. “Take the following message to Nissa Revane,” he said, “ _ Please meet me this afternoon. I would like your advice. Thank you. _ ” The silver fish swam out of his kitchen window.

 

Nissa was waiting outside his apartment when he got home. “Sorry to make you wait,” he said, unlocking the door and letting her in. 

“So what did you need?” she asked, hanging her coat up and taking a seat on the couch.

He sat down beside her. “Nissa,” he said. “Do you remember Gideon Jura?”

 

Jace dawdled in the office on Friday, not wanting to be early for his meeting with Gideon, and have to stand by himself in the atrium. But when Lavinia yelled at him for acting “antsy,” he decided to go down anyway.

To his relief, Gideon was already there. He waved to Jace when he saw him get out of the lift. Jace hurried over to the fountain. “Hi,” he said breathlessly.

A smile spread across Gideon’s face. “Hello, Jace. Shall we go?”

When they stepped out into the sunshine, Gideon asked him, “What’s the plan?” 

Jace smiled. He always had a plan. Gideon had known that about him, and obviously remembered it. He led the way through the streets of London to a cafe he had chosen with Nissa’s help. 

They sat in a quiet corner, holding their coffee. Gideon took his black. Jace thought it might never have occurred to Gideon to try adding anything to it, otherwise he might like it sweeter. Jace himself liked his coffee strong and dark. He sipped it and gazed across the table at Gideon, who was beaming at him.

“How long have you worked at the Ministry?” he asked.

Jace thought for a moment. “It was about a year after graduating, so, about four years? What about you? I had no idea you worked in the Ministry, too.”

“I’ve been here about a year and a half. After graduating I traveled and volunteered for a while, then I spent some time on physical and mental training to be an auror, and now here I am.” He grinned. Jace blinked slowly. Gideon had such a kind heart. He had never seemed to resent the people who ignored him in school, and he had such a drive to help others.

“That sounds amazing,” he said, “you’re really helping people...”

Gideon reached across the table and put his hand on Jace’s. Jace’s eyes flicked to their hands, then slowly traveled up Gideon’s strong, dark arm to his face. His eyes were sparkling.

“Jace,” he said. 

Jace’s heart leapt into his throat. Gideon was leaning toward him from across the table. Jace drew in a breath sharply just before Gideon’s lips met his. Heart thundering in his chest, he closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss.

After a long moment, Gideon pulled away, and Jace, opening his eyes, realized his face felt very warm. A broad smile spread across his face, and Gideon broke into a grin as well.

 

As they walked back to the Ministry, Jace brushed up against Gideon’s arm. He was much taller than Jace, whose head was just slightly higher than his shoulder. Responding to Jace’s touch, he lifted his arm and wrapped it around the smaller man’s shoulders, drawing him in. Jace leaned his head against Gideon and felt his heart speed up again.

“Jace?” Gideon said.

“Yes?” Jace replied, glancing up.

“Thank you.”

Jace turned his head and stared off in front of them. Memories bloomed at the front of his mind, of all the lunches and late nights they’d spent together back in school. Of the time they’d snuck into the Restricted Section of the library because Jace had wanted to know more about legilimency. Of Gideon passed out on the Hufflepuff common room couch, his mouth hanging open slightly as he slept. Of Gideon’s mouth on his, lips gentle and soft. He smiled. “It was my pleasure,” he said.

 

They walked through the atrium of the Ministry with Gideon’s arm still around Jace. Jace thought he might have felt shy, if Gideon’s body pressed against his, and the weight of his arm on Jace’s shoulders, hadn’t itself felt so comforting. They stepped into the lift, and went up.

As Jace stepped out at the fifth level, Gideon said, “I’ll send you another paper airplane tomorrow.” 

“I look forward to it,” Jace smiled as the grilles slid closed and Gideon continued up to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

As he turned towards the cubicles, he realized his heart was still fluttering. He sighed happily. It occurred to him that his being giddy with excitement would probably annoy Lavinia. He decided to collect his things and go home for the day. She watched him pack his bag up, but didn’t question him. Perhaps she could tell from his face he was happy enough to be… distracting.

  
He arrived back at his apartment soon after, and drifted to his bedroom. He flopped onto his bed, and pressed his face into a pillow. He was grinning like an idiot. He rolled over a few times, feeling full of energy. He couldn’t wait to see Gideon again. For Gideon to kiss him again. For all the feelings he’d tucked away into the back of his mind to come spilling out again, because now he could voice them, and feel them with all his heart, and even… even have them returned.


End file.
